Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller recently received a court order against the owners of a Shop N Save in Polk County that will require them to pay $50,000 in penalties to the state and stop selling synthetic drugs.
Owners Sandeep Kaur and Sarbpreet Singh allegedly violated Iowa's synthetic drug sale laws.
“This is the result we had hoped for,” Miller said. “We took these poisonous products off this store’s shelves, they won’t ever return, and the hefty penalty sends a strong message about selling synthetic drugs.”
An undercover officer allegedly bought a package of a synthetic substance from the store in 2012, as well as a glass pipe to smoke the product. The substance was allegedly labeled as "aromatic potpourri." Lab tests found that the product contained synthetic cannabinoids, which are similar to marijuana.
Police confiscated nearly 1,000 packages of alleged synthetic drugs during a follow-up search of the Shop N Save. The products allegedly were being marketed as potpourri, incense, bath salts, metal polish and plant food.
Miller's office said the products were "not fit for human consumption."
“This case began with hard work by the Des Moines Police Department, follow-up work by our Consumer Protection Division, the Iowa DCI lab and the Iowa Poison Control Center, and consultations with the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy,” Miller said. “It was a real team effort with a great outcome.”